In swoops the season

Thanksgiving remains blessedly noncommercial, a day we are called to the table to eat and to linger, while candles glow and the November light slowly slides from the sky.

But the days after Thanksgiving — starting, in some cases, with the seconds just past midnight — have become a bloated excess of commercialism.

These post-feast days were once given over to snacking on foil-covered remnants from the fridge, collapsing on the couch, and tending to any leftover guests. Now, they carry brands — “Black Friday,” “Small Business Saturday,” “Cyber Monday” — and the irresistible sniff of a deal.

Another slice of watery pumpkin pie? That can wait. We’ll take shopping with all the trimmings, many say. Eschewing the pajamas, the coffee, the TV or small talk that once helped them digest the turkey and the day, they are clutching their wallets, their ad circulars, and their plan of attack on the local stores.

It’s all in good fun, a sort of collegial assault on aisles crammed with early, good buys. “Everyone” does it, and so everyone does it — or joins the outlier group studiously avoiding it. Despite all the attention on the annual shopping kickoff, holdouts realize the stores and websites will still want us, and woo us.

So enjoy, don’t overdo it, and save some for the rest of us. That applies equally to the bargains and the pie.